Strawberries and Seawater
by Sakah
Summary: Sometimes, it only takes a little nudge to go a long way. KisaIta.


The harsh glare of sunlight filtered through the half-closed blinders, quickly warming up Kisame's closed eyelids. Dazedly waking up from his deep sleep, he gave a small groan of discomfort and rolled to his left. He had had the greatest dream not too long ago, and it ended abruptly when the sunlight woke him up. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he finally noticed that his partner, Itachi, was missing. The bed next to him was already made, and absolutely spotless.

A small smirk formed on Kisame's lips; his partner always made sure to wipe away any traces that would indicate he was ever there. Itachi had a peculiar habit of being a neat freak, especially when they went out on missions, and stayed at hotels.

Figuring that Itachi was probably out grabbing a bit to eat, Kisame stretched out his sore limbs, accompanied with a jaw-popping yawn. They were currently finishing up a mission, involving assassinating a particularly nosy (and well-guarded) drug lord, and walking. A _lot _of walking.

With the last crack of his knuckles, he got up from his slightly tangled sheets, and headed to the bathroom. Wrinkling his nose, he gave a _humph _at what he saw in the mirror before him. His hair was still caked with streaks of tan, brown, and flecks of red from yesterday's events.

Closing the door, he stepped towards the tub and turned the knob all the way to the right. After stripping from his clothes, he gave a shiver of pleasure as he entered the freezing shower. Call him crazy, but he loved taking cold showers, especially since he and Itachi were currently stuck in the middle of the desert. Also, the cold water never failed to wake him up.

As he was scrubbing his hair, his mind wandered back to the dream he had earlier. It had involved him going on an unusually romantic date with, funnily enough, a faceless figure. No matter how long he tried to grasp at the foggy fragments, he failed to recognize the face.

Was it a girl? All he could remember was eating with this figure on a beach during sunset, spilling out their souls with one another, and laughing softly at the awkwardness of their conversation. As the last golden rays from the sun winked out of the darkening sky, they slowly danced bare-footed in the grainy sand. Their bodies lightly rubbed against each other, and Kisame wrapped his hands gently around the other's waist.

He gave a sigh of satisfaction at the salty, yet natural scent of the other's hair. He ran a hand through their long, silky hair that ended near the middle of their back. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he tilted their chin to his face. Closing his eyes, he softly pressed his lips against theirs, enjoying the unique taste of seawater and strawberries. The mixture of the two left a zesty, yet faintly sweet taste on his hungry lips.

"Kisame?" Itachi stated, his hand still on the doorknob.

Kisame gave a yelp of pain as he accidentally smacked his skull against the shower head.

"I'm finishing up," He replied, rinsing out the last of the soapy shampoo from his hair.

Without replying, Itachi lightly slammed the door behind him.

"Jesus, he sure caught me by surprise," Kisame mumbled, feeling his heart continuing to race.

Once he finished his shower, he shut the water off and dried himself off with a nearby towel. He gave a grunt as he inspected his filthy outfit crumpled into a large ball, lying there pathetically in the corner of the room. Fortunately, he had an extra one in the closet of his hotel room.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he left the bathroom and entered the main room.

"I brought breakfast," Itachi said, holding up a paper bag in one hand. "I felt like eating here for a change."

Turning his back to Itachi, Kisame raised a critical eyebrow as he dug through the closet. This was quite a change, indeed. The younger nin usually ate his meals alone whenever possible. He reckoned this was probably the first time he had ever had the chance to eat breakfast with Itachi.

His hand on the coat hanger froze as a strong, sea salt scent reached his nose. It was the same scent he had imagined in his dream.

Creepy.

Hearing a small cough issue from the table, Kisame continued to grab his outfit from the closet. His face burned as he fumbled with the knot on his towel, and let it fall to the ground.

He had dressed in front of Itachi plenty of times before. What made this time any different?

His face continued to redden even after he put his clothes on. Shutting the closet before him, he joined Itachi at the sturdy, small table.

"It was the only open restaurant around here," Itachi explained, handing him a plate of clams.

"Thanks,"

The awkward silence between the two men only deepened as they ate without looking at each other.

"If we leave soon, we'll probably be able to return to the base by nighttime," Itachi informed, still eating.

Kisame gave a grunt of agreement as he finished the last of the clams.

_Itachi is pretty talkative today_, He noted. _Maybe something is bothering him?_

He had rarely seen the Uchiha upset about anything at all, really. The black-haired shinobi was very good at hiding his emotions. With a mental shrug, he got up from his chair and threw away his paper plate.

Once they had tidied up the room, they left for their long journey back home. The two stayed silent as they swiftly trekked through the relatively empty desert. Itachi abruptly stopped to a complete halt, and Kisame accidentally walked into his frozen partner.

"Whaa-?"

Kisame's cry was cut short as his face brushed against Itachi's long, silky ponytail.

His eyes widened in shock as, in a moment of realization, he remembered his entire dream. It was Itachi he had kissed on the beach! It was Itachi whom he had caressed like a lover he had known, danced, and snuggled with his entire life!

Trying to regain his composure, Kisame asked Itachi what was wrong.

"Hrm. Road construction."

Without warning, Itachi turned around and headed towards the opposite direction.

"There's another path we can take, but it will take a little longer to travel on."

For the rest of the morning, they continued their trek through the vast desert. As Itachi had predicted, it took all day and most of the night to return to the Akatsuki's base.

"Hey," Sasori greeted, looking up from a book on puppets he had been reading.

Giving weary, yet polite nods to their fellow comrades, they headed towards the kitchen.

Kisame's jaw dropped open as Itachi presented to him a plate of strawberries with an understanding smile.

"Judging from the shocked look on your face, you shared the same dream I had last night."

Setting the plate down, he sat into a stool, luring Kisame in with a seductive smile. Feeling his heart pound wildly in his chest, he joined Itachi, and leaned in to kiss him. Their soft kiss quickly turned rough, and Itachi let out a sharp cry. Mistaking the cry for a moan, Kisame pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Ouch, wait!"

A little lightheaded, Kisame pulled back, and was ashamed to see Itachi's lower lip bleeding.

"Your teeth are sharp."

"I'm so sorry!"

Absolutely mortified, Kisame covered his eyes with his hand, and wished with all of his might to be able to take back the kiss.

_I bet he's thinking the same thing right now._

Before he had time to apologize again, he felt something hitting his arm. Looking down, he saw that it was a strawberry he'd been hit with. A puzzled frown plastered on his face as Itachi playfully threw another strawberry, which landed with a _splat_ on the shark nin's face.

"Oh, it's _on_," Kisame promised, sneaking to the refrigerator with a backwards step.

Throwing a piece of cake, Itachi narrowly avoided it. Laughing like they never laughed before, the two shinobi threw whatever food items they could find at each other.

Soon, they were on the floor, trying to gasp for air and laugh at the same time.

"So, does this mean we're a couple, now?" Kisame asked, curious.

"I guess so. What do couples usually do together?"

"Kiss. Dance. Whatever you are in the mood of doing."

With a smirk, Itachi crawled into Kisame's arms and pressed his lips against his. This kiss was much sweeter and gentle then before.

Meanwhile, in another room, Pein flashed a rare grin at Konan.

"It looks like my new dream jutsu worked, after all."

"They were going to get with each other without your help."

"They needed an extra push. Trust me on this one."


End file.
